


We Were Emergencies

by auwana



Category: Highlander: The Series, Stargate Atlantis, The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, M/M, Methos and Amanda make appearances but they are breif, One Shot Collection, Post-Movie, pairings are background and not the focus, post-comics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25223860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auwana/pseuds/auwana
Summary: Collection of one shots. Comic or movie-verse will be noted. Crossovers likely.Next: Every spoiler for the end of the second series. Noriko manages to tell Andy something new about their immortality...
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 38
Kudos: 293





	1. 3 Months post-movie

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title based off a poem called We Were Emergencies by Buddy Wakefield

Nile knew Nicky and Joe noticed it, too. There's no way they missed it, not when they felt like they missed so many signs from their teammates. Never mind that they would've all learned how to hide their more obvious tells. Nile had a feeling that Nicky and Joe thought they should've seen Andy's depression was more than just stress and exhaustion of staying hidden. Missing what little signs there were of Booker's betrayal probably stung, too.

So, yeah, they all noticed when Andy started to rub at the new scars like talismans. She did it most late at night, near the end of her watch.

When it's easiest to get lost in the thoughts of the forever behind her and the still unknown amount of time ahead of her.

Sure, Andy's mortal now, but she's still so careful and skilled. Woman's not going down so easily just because the wounds remain. Not that they were letting her get hurt, but Andy was still Andy.

And honestly, it was as bad as running herd on her brother when they were kids.

"You not gonna freak out when the scars fade in a few years, are you?" Nile asked at the change of watch.

Andy scoffed. "Haven't freaked out over healing in a long, long time. Might be fun to do it again."

Nile shook her head and took a seat at the table, putting the plate of sliced orange between them. "How about you ride a roller coaster like a normal adrenaline junkie?"

She took a slice and carefully peeled the fruit. "You know, it's been a while since I've done that, too. Might not be a bad idea after the next job. Joe likes to win those massive stuffed animals and donate them to kids' hospitals."

Nile could feel her chest swell at just how soft these people could manage to be after so long. "I need to see that. Like, we're heading to the nearest fairgrounds immediately after the next job. It's summer, all the state fairs are going to be ramping up."

Andy shook her head, smiling a little. "And your list will only include the fairs with roller coasters?"

"Absolutely. You're not getting me on one, but-"

"Whoa, hold up, wait." She held up a hand and silenced her. "Badass Marine hasn't been on a roller coaster?"

Nile quickly backtracked to save her ass. "What makes you think a Marine is a normal adrenaline junky?"

"Nice try." Shit, Andy had the grin that meant she knew she was gonna win. "You said I couldn't get you on one. Means you're not a fan. Means you're scared."

Nile swallowed her bite of orange a little too quickly. "If I wanted to experience g-forces, I'd’ve joined the Air Force."

No dice. "No night watch for a month if you get on those roller coasters with me."

"Why?" Nile taunted. "Are you scared?"

"I'm scared of being death rolled by a 'gator again. I'm not scared of a barrel roll while I'm strapped into a vehicle meant to do such a thing. Two months free of night watch."

Nile shook her head. "Six ops free of night watch, 'cause knowing you, there won't be any ops for those two months."

Andy's grin was a little more genuine than shark-like. "You're learning."

Nile shrugged. "It happens." She motioned for the handgun. "I've got watch for now."

"Please make a decent breakfast," Andy begged as she handed over the weapon.

"Of course. Another one of Joe's ideas for breakfast is not an option."

Joe was a great man, but he only ever managed to make a perfect cup of coffee, bless him. Any other traditional breakfast food was an utter disaster. Nile had started to pack single-serve boxes of cereal to keep herself and the other two sane when Joe got to the stove before them.

Three weeks later, the team was in Alaska for the first state fair of their "road trip vacation." It'd been the nearest state fair to their mission in Siberia. And maybe Nile had an actual plan of attack that the others were ignoring. They even had an RV. Nile had a feeling they'd never been in one long term. The drive from Anchorage to the fairgrounds was... exciting, to say the least.

Nile was wondering if they were going to burn through a few RVs before they reached Florida.

(Florida, not the East Coast, not so close to her mom and brother, not so close to the temptation.)

On their first day, Joe got to light up the eyes of, like, fifty kids when he handed over giant plushies he had won with ease. Nicky had managed to find every blade dealer in the market area. Going through border customs would be a test in hiding so many knives. Andy was covered in Henna.

Nile was now addicted to roller coasters. She was certain Andy was NEVER going to let the fact die. Somehow, someway, Nile was going to be reminded about it a hundred years from now.

Climbing to the roof of the RV in the early summer morning, Nile tossed over an orange.

Andy didn't so much as reach for it.

"Andy?" Nothing. Nile shifted the woman away from the edge and knelt in front of her. "Hey, Andy, come back. It's August of 2017. We're in Palmer, Alaska, United States. C'mon, Andy, you can't stay where you-"

"They're gone." There was no emotion to her voice whatsoever.

Nile settled a little, easing her grip on Andy's shoulders. Nicky had warned her that sometimes they could get caught up in the memories. "Anyone in particular? If you wanna talk about it?"

"No. They're gone." Her tank top was off a moment later, and it was a good thing it was too early in the morning for anyone to be awake in the RV park. "The scars. Gone."

Nile immediately focused on where there should've been a twisted knot of skin. It was as if Andy had never been shot. Looking at her shoulder, the knife scar was also gone. "What? How?"

"I don't know." She sounded so lost, it made Nile wonder if Andy had been looking forward to a mortal life. Sure, Andy could still age well into her physical nineties, but at least time would be finite at long last.

Nile grabbed the water bottle off to the side, opened it, handed it over, and watched her drink. "Okay, what do we know? You stopped healing, and I started coming back from the fucking dead. Figured it was just some kind of transferal?"

Andy nodded a little. "There have always been so few of us. Whatever it is that keeps us going, maybe there's only so much of it to go around."

Nile took the water bottle from loose fingers and felt how cold they were. "C'mon, you're cold, and the guys aren't exactly slow to figure shit out." And Nile really, really didn't want to work this out alone if she didn't have to, and Nicky's calm and Joe's levity would help bring Andy out of her stupor more than Nile's logic ever could.

Nile squeezed Joe's hand to wake him, a signal of being safe and secure. He cracked open an eye, took stock of their facial expressions, and started to murmur Nicky awake with what sounded like Italian. Nile got Andy sitting and focused on getting some toast ready. Warmth and simple would be best for the moment.

"Your scars are gone," Joe murmured, having looked over Andy for any obvious problem and finding the change.

"I don't understand."

Nicky nudged Joe over and tugged Andy to sit between them. "Before we test anything, what's changed in the last three months? What is so dramatically different that it could affect our ability to heal?"

"Besides Nile showing up?" Joe shrugged. "We're doing everything we've always done. Eat, fuck, shoot, repeat. Some of us more safely than others."

Nile snorted. "I don't care if I'll heal from having an STD, I still don't want to suffer it for however short a time it's around."

"A long term working relationship with mortals isn't exactly new," Nicky mused. "It just hasn't been as safe to do so in recent decades."

Nile layered jam on the toast slices and put the plate in Andy's hands. "I know you make fun of me and my praying, but something keeps us alive." She motioned to the Henna. "None of that was in the artist books. If it has meaning..."

She shrugged. "They're just forgotten sigils. Scythians were as superstitious as anyone was back then."

Nicky nudged Andy to eat. "But what do they mean?" he asked gently.

She took a bite and chewed slowly, clearly slipping away from the present. "Nothing so delicate as hope or relation to faith. Strength. Fortitude. Victory." She frowned, trying to translate. "The idea of greeting the next day with those who fight at your side."

Joe stole a bite of toast. "Sounds a lot like hope to me, boss."

Andy shook herself and looked at Nile. "We've been functioning on the idea that I'm no longer healing because you are. What if... It's just that you needed the boost to make sure your immortality could handle our way of life, and since I was the nearest to you..."

Nile wondered if it was that or something more to do with Andy than Nile herself. "Maybe? We all know I wasn't exactly accepting of getting back up from the dead."

"That's one way to put it," Joe muttered. He squeezed Andy's shoulder. "So old and still learning something new."

Andy elbowed him in the ribs. "Has it ever occurred to you why you've never seen him behind the wheel of a vehicle, Nile?"

Knowing the distraction for what it was, Nile let it go. "Is it for the same reason we don't let him cook breakfast?"

"What's wrong with my breakfasts?!"

As one, they all said, "Everything."

"Nicolo, my heart, my soul-"

"I love you with every part of me, Yusuf."

"Some parts more than others, some nights," Andy muttered around her bite of food.

Nicky rolled his eyes. "You are a brilliant chef in many things, my love. But breakfast is not one of them."

Joe looked utterly heartbroken, and Nile wondered if sleeping arrangements were about to change for the duration of the road trip. Then he perked up a little. "Does this mean I can sleep in while one of you cooks breakfast?"

Andy and Nicky shoved him off the bunk. He returned with one of the new blades, a short one, sharpened to perfection under Nicky's careful hands. "Somewhere safe, I think. Safe-ish. For a mortal." He sat back down, a small first aid kit between his feet.

Andy casually slid the knife against the top of her forearm. Not an unusual place for a scratch, but not anywhere that risked severe blood loss.

It healed as quickly as any other small cut would for them.

Nicky took the blade and made it vanish somewhere behind him. "While this is a relief when it comes to future ops, we should test slowly. Make sure of things." He was careful with his words as if he didn't want to upset Andy in one direction or another.

Nile knew they were all relieved that Andy was going to be with them for perhaps a bit longer than they thought. But to finally be at rest? That was also something Nile knew Andy yearned for.

Andy finished off the toast. "Thanks, Nile," she said, handing back the plate. "I'm going for a walk."

"Maybe a shirt first, boss," Joe suggested as Nile held out the tank top.

"Everyone finds this view amazing," Andy said, motioning to herself even as she snagged the shirt.

"And therein lies the problem," Nicky said. "I don't want us to be run out of an RV park because spouses could not help but bow to your greatness."

"That one time in Croatia was enough," Joe muttered.

Andy grinned. "But, it was fun." She was out the door a moment later.

Nile put the place in the sink and leaned against the small counter, looking at the two men. She had a feeling they were of the same mind. "I've seen a few instances of PTSD. Andy... wasn't okay when I showed up, was she?"

"Indeed," Nicky said. "I was a hint surprised when she arrived in Sudan. I expected she wanted her "vacation" to last more than a single year."

"But she's our leader," Joe said. "That role has always been a comfort zone for her, even when the decisions were hardest."

"I'm not saying she's "better"," Nile said slowly, "but I will say I'm sure she's smiled more in the last twenty-four hours than the last three months."

Nicky patted the bunk and slung his arm over Nile's shoulders when she joined them. "You would not be wrong. For all Copely was an utter fuck up when it came to Merrick, he did show her just how important she's been."

Nile nodded. "It was harder to see from the inside."

"You two don't have to be so roundabout when she's not here," Joe said as he stood and stretched. Going to the coffee pot, he said, "Andy didn't want to be immortal anymore. Plain and simple. Lose the will to live, lose whatever it is that keeps us ticking. Rediscovering why she's made it this long kick-started things again."

"Then, we must do better to remind each other of all we've managed to accomplish," Nicky said. "We are so few, but those few we have influenced? That's a life worth striving for."

Nile shook her head. "Joe, I see what you mean about his romanticism." She snickered as she was shoved off the bunk.

Joe grinned. "Yes, and he's all that more amazing for it."

Nile moved around Joe and got the eggs out of the small fridge. "Don't go anywhere, you. If I can teach Dizzy to scramble eggs on an overheated Jeep engine, I can beat it into your head on a real stove."

"If you manage that," Nicky said, "you'll only need two more miracles."

Joe started muttering, and Nile nudged him. "Pay attention. I want language lessons in return."

"This is twice the work for you," Joe said, "but so be it."

Nile settled in for the long haul as Joe started pointing at things and rattling off words. Being immortal wasn't gonna be easy. But with these people? Well, it was sure going to be damn interesting.

And that? That was something Nile could live with.


	2. 3-6 Months post comics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Here I am, bypassing all the trauma and angst of the return from the watery grave. Which is surprising to those who know me. Anyway everyone is FAMILY damnit!)

Noriko tugged Nile into a small shop the group passed on their way back to the motel. “Hey, pretty girl, I’d like some of your time.”

Nile rolled her eyes. “That is in no way creepy. What’s up?”

“When did Andy decide technology was the work of the most evil of spirits?”

“You know, as odd as her whole name is these days, the shortened version sounds awkward coming from you.”

“I will grow accustomed to it in time.” Noriko picked up a pair of sunglasses and tried them on. “Hm, no.” She put them back. “Unlike her with technology.”  
“Booker told me he’s the only one who learns the more complicated stuff. They can all send emails and know the bare basics of web browsing, but I’ve never seen them do it casually. They seem more content with books and newspapers and televised news.”

Noriko frowned and let the way to the small stand with candy. She had a monster sweet tooth that made Andy cringe some days. “Andromache was always the first to adapt to new, better ways of working. Every time there was an advancement in how to save time, effort, and what counted as currency, she dove headfirst into learning and applying it.” She shrugged. “Sometimes, the venture was a failure, but not usually.”

Nile snagged a Snickers for herself and Moon Pies for the guys. If there was some kind of fancy candy around, Andy might get something out of this side trip. She could be such a sweets snob. “Sounded like it was out of necessity. I’m sure if it became vital for her to learn, she would.”

“By the time it becomes necessary, there will be bigger problems, such as why it has become necessary.” Noriko found a kind of soda she had yet to try and grabbed enough for everyone. “We have quite the task before us, young one.”

“Whoa, wait, I did not sign up for-”

“You signed up for having our backs as we have yours. This means teaching life skills that allow us to not just survive, but thrive.”

Nile groused but didn’t argue. “She’s gonna shoot us.”

“That, too, is a lesson.”

“I hate you.”

Noriko smirked as she headed for the register. “That only means you’re paying attention.”

* * *

  
Noriko and Nile spent a week assessing Andy’s limits and skills. They casually roped the guys into helping, asking for innocuous favors that usually had them poking at Andy to finish. They even managed to nudge Copely into getting Andy to do some computer work using her language skills.

Nile got to teach Andy her first lesson in getting web page source code to kill ads and paywalls. The glint that Andy got in her eyes after learning the simple trick made Nile wonder just how many devices had been axed for having annoying pop-up ads.

“Very good, young one,” Noriko said when they were out of earshot of the others. “The secret to great drama is also the secret of learning: start small, and build.”

Nile looked at her, peeved. “That explains so, so much about you.”

Noriko only smirked and went on her way.

Nile decided everyone’s basics could be built upon a bit more. While the team could touch type, only she and Booker were at office job levels of typing speeds. Noriko was the next best, but her learning curve had been steep once she had escaped the sea. Nile introduced Booker to a speed typing game, and the competitive nature of the others took over.

Okay, so Joe was looking for any opportunity to beat Booker’s ass in a way that wouldn’t have Nicky asking him to calm his shit. But if it got them to better typing speeds, Nile would let it go.

“You may be on to something,” Noriko commented as she taught Nile in the kitchen while the others were competing. “Games may be far more useful to our cause than lessons and tricks.”

“Probably. I can look into things. We should throw in the more regular games to keep suspicions down.”

Noriko raised an eyebrow. “Having fun has nothing to do with it?”

Nile grinned. “Of course not.”

* * *

  
Andy smiled at Noriko as she sat beside her on the roof. “The kids behaving?”

“For values of behaving, yes.” She handed over a bottle of cream soda. “I found your stash of the good shit.”

“I’d be surprised if you hadn’t.”

They clinked their bottles together, and after a sip, Noriko said, “Your plan has come along brilliantly, my love.”

Andy shrugged. “It’s not exactly the greatest of plans.”

“Maybe not in complexity, but the results will have the best of far-reaching consequences.”

“And Nile suspects nothing?”

“Not yet. But she’s having fun.”

“All that matters, really.”

Noriko nodded. “Though, why did you only encourage Booker to stay ahead of the latest technologies?”

“It gave him something to contribute.” Andy sipped her soda. “I could see how intimidating we were in his eyes; thousands of years old, with knowledge he could barely comprehend, and telling him how he had to live now.”

“And what started as a way to keep balance became habit. A bad one,” Noriko pointed out.

“I can navigate computers just fine, thank you.”

“A few more tricks won’t hurt.”

Andy glared playfully. “I’ll show you tricks.”

Noriko smirked. “As the children say, bring it.”

Andy wrapped an arm around her. “Please stop using slang. It sounds so weird coming from you.”

“I shall do as I please, Andromache.”

Andy sighed and rolled her eyes. Pressing close together, they watched the stars crawl across the sky.


	3. Stargate, 6 Weeks Post Movie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do NOT ask me the details of the Stargate timeline in relation to Old Guard's timeline. IDK when Nile was on Atlantis, or where Andy was during the rebellion. And I'm still working on a series so don't feed the Stargate muses or else the supersoldier Maria fans will hunt me down XD

_To: evan.lornesga2.mil_

_From: newancientnfreeman@yahoo.com_

_Major Lorne, I may have evidence of a genetic mutation._

Nile deleted the email draft and went back to watching t.v. She would catch all kinds of hell if Andy or the boys found her contacting the military. Even if she was pretty sure Stargate Command wouldn’t be anywhere near as invasive as Merrick, there were always the people above and controlling the SGC.

But there was no way her immortality was just random happenstance. People didn’t become immortal for no reason. And while she hadn’t exactly been up to date with the latest Ancient research while stationed on Atlantis, she had picked up enough to know Ancients had interbred with humans. Her genetics only went so far as to turn on lights and activate the inner-city transporters. But Andy was nearing seven thousand years old.

If their form of immortality was some kind of Ancient gene mutation, Andy would be far more closely related to the Ancients than anyone else involved with the Stargate Program.

Not that Nile could tell anyone any of this.

The knock on the door barely grabbed her attention. Threats didn’t knock on doors. Still focused on the t.v., she stuck her closed fist and shook it three times. In the corner of her eye, she saw Andy’s wide palm beside Nile’s still closed one. Nile huffed and got up, muttering about getting TIVO installed in all their safe houses so they could pause shit.

“It’s cookie season,” Joe called from the kitchen. “I want two of everything, there’s cash in the Bible under the window.”

Nicky gasped. “Blasphemous!”

Nile shook her head and glanced out of the peephole. Her breath caught. Keeping her composure, she opened the door and stepped outside, hoping she closed it calmly behind her. “Good afternoon, sir, doctor.”

Carson Beckett grinned. “Weren’t expecting us, were you?”

“Maybe I was expecting someone, but not the CMO and second in command.”

Evan Lorne shrugged carefully as to not irritate the arm in a sling. “It was decided you’d react better to a familiar face.” He glanced up and down the hall. “So. You went AWOL for this?”

Nile had to admit, their current location wasn’t exactly...great. “If I learned anything out there, it was to grab sleep when and where I can.”

“Ain’t that the truth. Now. Can we come in, or do you want to go elsewhere to talk?”

Nile glanced at the door. No doubt someone had found a way to listen. “Before I decide that, can I ask what you think you’re here for?”

Carson nodded. “You miraculously survived what should have been a fatal neck wound. Before you were to be shipped off to Germany for further testing, you vanished, presumed taken. It took a while for the right people to hear about your incident.”

“Given your genetic predisposition,” Evan said, “both your base and the attack location were examined for possible undocumented artifacts. When nothing turned up, well, you still have your locator beacon.”

Nile blinked. “I thought that was removed when I transferred out?”

Evan sighed. “How do I phrase this? Due to the program's on-going operations, it was decided all former members of the expedition with an active predisposition remain locatable in case of emergency.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Nile couldn’t really blame the SGC for wanting to keep tabs on anyone who could operate Ancient tech. “And honestly? Not surprising.”

“Also,” Even said slowly, “we may have been monitoring you for the last week.”

Nile froze. “Who’s ‘we’?”

“Oh, mostly me,” Evan assured. “Cadman took night shift. We weren’t watching every moment, but…”

“You saw what we did in Belize.”

“Yeah.” Evan shook his head. “I guess tactics change in your situation. You did good. Illegal, but good.” He grinned. “And not my jurisdiction.”

Nile supposed that would have to be enough. She looked at the doctor. “You want to run tests?”

Carson nodded, patting the small pack over his shoulder. “I brought enough supplies to gather samples and base readings.”

“Command would prefer if you came in,” Evan said, “but since you went AWOL to begin with, they were convinced to allow us to try subtle and peaceful first.”

Nile glanced at the door. Going back to the SGC wouldn’t be...risky. She knew that both Carson and her former CO would get her right back out if someone above them wanted to get into invasive testing. She might even be able to restart her life, keep in touch with her mother and brother... Maybe she wouldn’t visit them, would have to claim another extended, classified posting. But they’d all get their closure.

The SGC was by far the safer option than Merrick if anyone were to do testing.

“You know I don’t live here alone, right?” Nile asked. When she got nods, she continued, “Well, they’re not going to like any decision I make since all my options risk them, so...”

Nile opened the door and stuck her head inside. She wasn’t surprised at all to see Joe leaning against the wall beside the door, a listening device in one hand and gun in another. Nicky was still cooking dinner. Andy was nowhere to be seen, which was by far the most worrisome thing.

“They can come in,” Joe said, “but we’ll never use this place again.”

Nile nodded and pushed the door wider before leading the SGC members inside. “Major Lorne, Doctor Beckett, the guys. Guys, these are former coworkers.”

Carson was eyeing the gun but took his cue from Evan’s ease of the situation. The doctor started to unload equipment onto the coffee table. Nile sat on the couch, and Evan stood next to the arm beside her, watching the television.

“How did you find Nile?” Nicky asked, an edge to his voice.

“If I say classified, will he shoot me?” Evan nodded to Joe.

“Not anywhere life-threatening,” Joe said, putting down the equipment but not the gun.

Nile rested her arm on a throw pillow for the blood pressure cuff and blood draw. The Ancient medical scanner had been rehoused; two fingers tips went into the top like an O2 monitor clip. Some kind of translation program had been installed, so the display was in English. She closed her eyes when electrode pads were placed on her temples.

“Technology advances at a fast rate when enough money and brains are thrown around,” Evan said, handing over a personal shield device. “And sometimes that tech gets put into people.”

Nile looked down at the activated device. It’d been something she could enable before. Seeing it light up now only proved death hadn’t altered the gene. She deactivated it and handed it back to Evan. “I would have shot them through the door myself if I thought they were a threat to us.”

Evan feigned insult. “I saved your life!”

Nile scoffed. “After leading me and the team into it.”

“Fine. Doc’s saved your life, how could you shoot him?”

“I wouldn’t. He’d focus on your bullet wound and not bother coming after me.”

“Smart girl,” Nicky said.

Nile beamed at him.

“It’ll take a few days to a couple of weeks for me to run all the tests we can come up with,” Carson said as he started to disconnect everything. “The implications are...not something I want to share with the more reckless members of the program.”

Evan snorted. “Absolutely. I have a hard enough time carrying Sheppard’s injured weight when he can hop along. I don’t want to know what geared up dead weight will do to my back.”

Nile stood to walk them to the door. “I guess you’ll know where to find me?”

Evan grinned. “We will. But, if it’s not us? Shoot them. Seriously.”

Nile nodded. “Will do.”

They stepped out into the hall, and as Nile relatched the door, she heard the tell-tale hum of the Asgard beaming technology.

Andy stepped out of the bedroom, grabbed the television remote, and switched to the security cameras Nile had no idea were in the building. The video had already been rewound to just before the knock on the door.

In a flash of light, Evan and Carson appeared in the hallway.

Andy hit pause, tossed the remote on the table, and fell into the armchair. “Start talking.”

And, well, there was no way the Daedalus or whatever ship in orbit hadn’t scanned for surveillance technology. Someone wanted her to explain. Since she was technically AWOL as it was...

Nile took the plate of food Nicky handed her. She ate a bite, thinking about her words, and sat on the couch. “In late nineties, an archaeologist presented evidence that the pyramids were built by aliens as landing pads.” She ate another bite while her elders scoffed and chuckled. “The U.S. Air Force proved him right.”

Now they were staring at her.

Nile snagged a notebook and pen, flipped open to a blank page, and started drawing the Stargate. “Turns out, we’re not alone in the universe. Being the U.S. military complex, a massive beehive was kicked over. Since then, teams of soldiers and scientists have traveled to other worlds using a device that can create a stable wormhole.”

Nile lifted her hands away from the paper to eat another bite.

A beer bottle crashed to the floor.

They all looked at Andy, who was staring at the half-finished image in shock.

“Why the ACTUAL FUCK did the military decide to mess around with a chappa’ai?!”


	4. Immediately post 2nd series SPOILERS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every spoiler for the end of the second series.  
> Knowledge of Highlander not needed, I'm merely using the bare bones of characteristics.  
> This is also very, very choppy. I had an idea but didn't have the focus to flesh it out.

It took Andy a lot longer than she’d like to regain some kind of composure and semblance of mental steadiness. They were well over four hours in the air when she was finally able to actually look and SEE Noriko.

“What do you mean by others?”

Noriko smiled at her, glad to see Andy was finally present. “Have you ever wondered why there’s only been us? Why there’s so few? It’s because the dreams are proximity-based.”

Andy felt her jaw drop. It made sense, but still... “Explain it to me like I’m stupid.”

Noriko frowned. “No. You’re shocked, not stupid. Never stupid, Andromache.”

Something inside Andy’s chest ached at hearing her full name pronounced in the way only ‘Riko could ever say it.

“The dreams only ever occur to other immortals who have any chance of finding each other. What point would there be for either of us to dream of another in the middle of the Amazon? Or among the many Pacific islands? Whatever keeps us alive connects those of us in reach. As for never meeting others...When last did you look?”

And, well, Noriko had a point. Andy never bothered to look for hint nor sign of others; she would dream of them, wouldn’t she? And, really, what could she possibly search for? They all lived in ways that would ensure no one COULD figure out their immortality.

Or, so she thought.

“Tell me about them? Tell me how you managed this?” Andy motioned to the private jet. “This is a lot, even for us.”

“Wealth can buy privacy, as can racism.” Noriko smirked. “After all, don’t we all look the same?”

Andy laughed. She laughed for the first time in a long time, and it felt good. “I will always know your face, ‘Riko.”

Noriko’s smirk softened into a smile. “And I will never forget yours. As for the others... First, there is Kronos, who doesn’t remember his first name, so chose it for himself...”

Andy leaned in a little and listened. She was tired of fighting and tired of a lot of things having to do with the world. And, yes, Noriko had been harsh and cruel, but so was Andy herself.

This was her own second chance at something other than fighting and killing. Like hell was she going to pass it up.

* * *

Methos glanced up from his book when the doors to the library opened.

“If there’s no food on the table, this is where you can find him,” Noriko said as she led in her long lost gal pal.

“Excuse you, sometimes I can be found at a nice pub.”

“Do not trust his definition of nice.”

The woman at Noriko’s side was introduced properly; Andromache looked as worn down as Methos felt most days. He wondered what Noriko hadn’t told her of their little enclave. Noriko’s mind was much like her fighting style, sharp and twisted. Fortunately, Methos was even more twisted.

“You wouldn’t happen to like chess, would you?” he asked. “Or, let me rephrase, you wouldn’t happen to be any good at it, hm?”

“Is your definition of “good at chess,” the same as “a nice pub?”

Methos grinned. “Maybe you’ll be worth the increased grocery list.”

Noriko looked infinitely pleased. Andromache said she would return once the tour was over and she’d gotten some sleep. Methos didn’t hold her to it or hold his breath.

He made a point of going unnoticed, unseen, and unremarked.

It was the only way he was going to get out of this fiasco alive.

* * *

Andy felt her stomach twist the longer she listened to Kronos and Caspian go over their plans. There was so much malice dripping from their words, and they were so gleeful about it. Andy realized one thing very, very quickly.

The human trafficking ring in California hadn’t been a situation Noriko took advantage of to reintroduce herself.

It was one she operated.

Illegal drug distribution, movement of people like cattle, the pulling of political strings. All of it to reap chaos and dominate the short lives of mortals. The dozen other immortals around her were in full agreement with the plans, contributing ideas for suffering and extrapolation both.

Andy wanted to scream. She wanted to rage, she wanted to give up, give in, make it all stop...

She just wanted it all to stop.

But she kept her face clear. She kept her eyes on everyone, taking in every bit of information she could. Noriko had found her once. Andy would need every bit of intel on where these immortals operated so she could avoid everything and anything to do with them.

So she could give Nile and the boys a target to aim at.

* * *

Noriko sat on the edge of the window seat and considered Andromache. “Will you tell me your mind?”

“I don’t want this.”

“What, exactly?”

“The scheming, the manipulation, the...” She ran her hands through her hair. “This is what I’m tired of. Exhausted, even.”

Noriko raised an eyebrow. “What did you think you would find at the end of our flight? After everything I said in the park, did you think that I lived a quiet, peaceful life? Did you think your mere presence could change-”

“No! I don’t know what I was expecting, but I do know I don’t want this. Any of it.”

“Even if not wanting any of this means not wanting me?”

Andy stared out the window, seeing nothing of the estate sprawled before her. “The person we both want the other to be died a thousand times since that storm.”

Noriko sat, silent and still, considering each thought that occurred to her. The options were limitless, and yet... “You know too much, Andromache. I can’t just let you leave.”

“I know.”

The shadows among the bookshelves shifted. “There is another option.”

Methos looked entirely unsurprised by the handguns pointed at him. Andy tucked hers away, but Noriko only lowered hers. He stepped away from the wall and strolled closer.

“You can’t let her leave without Kronos suspecting you for the next decade. And you, Andromache, don’t have it in you at the moment to figure a way out of a wet paper sack.”

Andy frowned but didn’t object.

“What’s your solution?” Noriko demanded.

“That would be telling.” He turned and headed for the door. “You’ll know when it’s time to leave.”

Noriko and Andy looked at each other, a thousand wishes, lies, and years between them.

“I told you I wouldn’t walk away from you.”

Andy nodded. “And here I am, doing it to you again.”

Noriko shook her head. “I held my time underwater against you for years. Decades. But I know there was nothing you could’ve possibly done.”

“At least we get to say goodbye this time.”

And though both wanted to reach out, find a way to make right something, anything, between them, neither moved.

Maybe. One day. They had all the time in the world, after all.

* * *

Andy woke up with a start.

Bright, amused brown eyes watched her from the edge of the bed. Before Andy could move, the woman made a motion for silence. Andy kept her mouth shut and got out of bed.

Finding it void of Noriko was a blessing and a curse.

Andy grabbed her backpack, already dressed to leave at a moment’s notice. This seemed to please the blonde woman.

Then Andy was handed a climbing harness. She noted the ropes hanging outside one of the bedroom windows. Sighing, she put it on and tightened it.

Ten not so tense minutes later, she was in the passenger seat of a silent running electric car. A bag of fast food was handed to her.

“After all those chef-cooked meals, I figured you’d want some good old fashioned grease.”

Andy neither confirmed nor denied, she just dug in.

“Amanda, by the way.”

“Sincerely hoping you know who you helped out a window.”

“But of course! I always know what I’m stealing. Andromache. Which, in my opinion, is far better than Methos’ not so obvious in-joke.”

Andy....wasn’t quite sure what to make of such a...bubbly personality. “Where are we going? How do you know Methos?”

“We have a mutual friend. And, as the really old guy likes to say, Bora Bora is nice this time of year.”

Maybe Andy wasn’t okay. Maybe Andy wasn’t going to be okay for a very, very long time. But a different perspective wouldn’t be a bad place to start.


End file.
